Portrait Session with Sarah Jayne Dunn | James Melia

Some shoots arrive with a bit of noise around them.

This one didn’t. Which I liked.

The brief was simple: create a set of portraits that felt honest, current, and unforced. No overproduction. No character. Just presence.

Sarah came in calm, open, and very clear about what she wanted the images to say without spelling it out. That usually makes for the best sessions. You’re not pulling something out of someone. You’re paying attention.

She’s someone people recognise instantly, but the focus here wasn’t on familiarity. It was about stripping things back and letting small shifts do the work. Subtle changes in posture. Where the weight sits. When the expression drops for half a second before it resets. Those moments tend to be where the photograph actually lives.

Lighting was kept deliberately simple. Clean, directional, nothing clever. I wanted the frame to feel steady enough that her expression could carry it. When the setup disappears, people tend to relax into themselves. You can feel it when it happens.

What stood out most was how collaborative the session felt without ever becoming busy. A few quiet adjustments. A shared sense of when something was working. No rush to move on just because we’d “got the shot”.

These are the kinds of shoots I enjoy most. Where the image doesn’t announce itself, but holds your attention a little longer than expected.

Portrait photography, at its best, isn’t about revealing something new.

It’s about recognising what’s already there and not getting in the way of it.